The lieutenant governor usually gavels in the Senate on Day 1. But Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was out of town, attending meetings at the White House. So Patrick asked Nelson to stand in for him.

"[Patrick] is not going to be able to join us," Nelson said. "He was called by the White House for an important meeting in Washington today to discuss some issues that are critical to Texas. I know it was a tough decision for him. But the lieutenant governor's schedule is not the White House schedule. And when the White House calls you to Washington, you go to Washington."

Patrick's staff did not respond to requests for more information about the meetings he was attending. President Donald Trump was expected to give a prime-time address on border security and immigration issues Tuesday.

Nelson, first elected in 1993, is the longest-serving Republican in the Senate. Women have previously gaveled in opening day in the Texas House, where the secretary of state usually presides over the body on Day 1.

Gun control art installation

Three female artists have installed artwork in the state Capitol that praises recent student efforts to enact gun control laws.

"Assemble to Disassemble" by Lalena Fisher features a "military-style grid" of Mary Jane shoes radiating out like sun rays from a dismantled AR-15.

The Houston-based artist said she was moved by the young people who demanded sensible gun regulations in the wake of shooters terrorizing their schools in 2018.

In addition to Fisher's art, which spans the center floor of the Capitol basement, the exhibit also features the drawings of New York-based Mison Kim and Washington-based Naomi Spinak. Spinak quilted a U.S. flag embroidered with guns to replace the stars and featuring the names of Americans killed in mass shootings.